A County Sheriff in Texas took a power cutting tool to a local crypto ATM after a family was reported to have been scammed from $ 25,000, sparking a debate with crypto users in the sense of his actions.
According to In local reports on Tuesday, a scammer scammed a family in Jasper County, northern -west of Houston, depositing funds to a local bitcoin (BTC) ATM by pretending to a government employee.
The Jasper County Sheriff Chuck Havard got a search warrant and cut off the ATM, shown by brand -run -run -run photos, to recover approximately $ 32,000, including $ 25,000 family paid to scammers.
Havard said the scam caller said they owe $ 25,000 to the fine and ordered them to deposit the money to a Bitcoin address, with the family then used the Bitcoin ATM to transfer funds.
The bitcoin depot contacted to comment on the incident.
Crypto users ask for cops tactics
“Sounds like maybe government employees broke an innocent third party owner and stole his money,” Reddit user Johnodlg Says on Wednesday in response to the news.
Reddit user JAD8484 Says That “unless it has the kiosk owned that scamming, it doesn’t make sense.”
“It’s like confiscating all the money from a CVS register after buying a bunch of gift cards to be sent to scammers,” they added.
Havard defended his actions and reportedly said, “When thieves, low-life and scammers attempt to take advantage of the citizens of Jasper County, we will work quickly and use every resource at our disposal to protect our citizens and their property at all costs.”
Tough case to cracked, Sheriff says
Havard said such cases involving the crypto scams “can be complicated and difficult to solve.”
He said his department had not yet found the whereabouts of the scammer.
The incident came amid a growing investigation of crypto ATMs across the US and abroad.
Related: US DOJ files to occupy $ 225m in crypto tied to pork killing schemes
On June 18, Spokane, the second largest city in the state of Washington, banned crypto ATMs in response to a climb to SCAM activity that targets local residents.
The FBI reported In April nearly 11,000 complaints and over $ 246 million in losses associated with crypto ATM scams in 2024, a 31% increase from 2023.
On June 3, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Center recently implemented a 5,000 dollars of Australia ($ 3,250) limit on cash deposits and backward with crypto ATMs.
Magazine: New York’s Pubkey Bitcoin Bar is Orange-Pill Washington DC Next
